[ gunfire ] >> syria's gun battlsir serious gun battles in iraq. vote necessary afghanistan return to the polls to elect their next president.

>> the situation in iraq is continuing to deteriorate today. now a coalition of sunni muslim fighters controlling several cities and towns in the northern and western side of the country. that group is known and isis. that's the islamic state in iraq and syria. now shia leaders are calling to defend their leaders and their country. we have the latest on those calls. >> the association of muslim scholars are an very influential and popular group in iraq. the statement is likely to be seen as key. it's a warning to the islamic state of state of iraq and

levant. now they didn't explicitly they were going to talk the shrines there, but the impetus of that statement suggests they were going to those cities. it's that kind of thing. that kind of spark that could set iraq off on the path of sectarian warfare. we've seen this in 2006 when the shrine was attacked by al-qaeda. lots of iraqis lived through that period. they are senior figures now who are wondering what path iraq is going t on right now. that's why they're managing the statements that they released. they're not giving backing, the scholars, to the sunni rebels. some say we need to create peace platoons to defend, not go on the defensive, but to between shia shrines. everyone is trying to manage the

statements. certainly it's sectarian to say the least. >> here in baghdad. the baghdad operations command have responded to the isil threat of attacking back dad by putting around a perimeter, by putting in increased curfews, patrol, as we speak to ordinary people here a lot of people are scared. this has been going on in baghdad for 18 months now. we see three to karr box a week here. many people don't leave their neighborhoods, their shia neighborhood and sunni neighborhood, baghdad has lived through this for a while, tensions are high in the city, and people are worried about what could happen next. they're looking at cities like mosul. 2million people fell to just 1300 sunni rebels.

>> iraqmany iraqi troops are dropping their weapons and abandoning their posts. many say they don't have the resources to keep flighting. >> reporter: we met them in their tent in a makeshift camp where they live in fear keeping to themselves. there are soldiers from the iraqi army said when mosul fell to isil or islamic state in iraq and the levant. they wouldn't show their face but they would talk about what happened. >> question asked for support. it didn't come. we asked for ammunition. nothing arrived. how can we continue fighting. the big commanders who came from baghdad ran away and left us with nothing. >> reporter: not everyone here wants to be filmed but they tell us they come from all over iraq including the southern shia hot lands. they fled and handed over their weapon to the kurdish authorities along the water. they say they still don't

understand what happened. this is a video that was shot in mosul. as the isil fighters were approaching the city they're saying defiantly, let them come, we're ready to fight. >> reporter: it was meant to boost morale. it was aired on national television. watching it now increases their sense of betrayal and loss. isil issued a statement in which they called on, quote, the police, soldiers and other infidel institutions. you can repent. we have opened special places that will allow to you repent. the men hearsay this equates to a death sentence. but perhaps most of their anger is directed to the iraqi prime minister. >> they took a lot of equipment that were based at the hotel. they took the police has

st. george and killed them. they seized tanks, army vehicles. it's a catastrophe. >> reporter: there are many more security forces stranded, unable to reach their homes and being claimed for what iraqis fear could be the collapse of the entire country. al jazeera, northern iraq. >> so the situation in iraq has prompted an extraordinary response from the iranian government. president hasan rouhani is promising to help. >> it is said that our countries must unite to combat terrorism. no one else has entered that scene. we have not seen the americans make a decision. if we see the u.s. engage in terrorist groups then one can think of cooperations. but we're not seeing that the u.s. is doing anything. >> rouhani said that iraq has

not asked for assistance. joining us live from washington, d.c. is randall pinkston. randall, good morning to you. let's jump right into it. this offer from iran to work with the united states to stop this fighting, what exactly does that offer mean for the white house? >> reporter: well, the u.s. department of state was asked about that yesterday in the briefing, and they sidestepped the question, dismissing the idea of working directly with iran. after all, we have to keep in mind that the u.s. and iran still have serious differences about iran's nuclear program. that said, however, president obama before leaving washington yesterday on the south lawn did tell reporters that all of iraq's neighbors, including iran, should do what they can to stop insurgents and do what they can to stabilize iraq. so in terms of cooperating isil,

the interests are joined. but in terms of standing on the ground and fighting, that's another question. we're not sending in troops any way. >> what does the range of options entail militarily. >> we know the national security team and pentagon are all working around the clock, as the president put it, to come up with possible options. one of the things that we're hearing whatever the u.s. decides to do will be short termed. it will not be open ended. we heard members of congress saying that they would approve the use of drones, a possible bombing strikes. the challenge, of course, is to make sure whatever is done is targeted against isil to avoid any collateral damage. retired general told al jazeera there is a possibility of using

special operations forces on the ground, limited boots on the ground, limited operations forces to assist with any kind of targeting, bombing or use of drones. of course all of that is under wraps, and nothing has been decided and will not be for several days. >> the truth is in some sense we've been here before. how is the legacy of the iraq war which obama promised to end effecting this time around? >> president obama is still insisting that america's role in terms of ground troops is over. no troops on the ground. as a matter of fact, even his critics are saying we're not talking about boots on the ground even as they continue to criticize him for not leaving american forces here there. the president is saying that this is a problem that the iraqis have to solve. one of the areas that they really have to deal with right away is getting prime ministerial maliki to come to some kind of agreement with

adversaries in their country, the sunni who fell like they have been shut out with the kurds in the north. president obama said unless president maliki changes his way of operating at the end of the day no matter what the u.s. does if the iraqis don't help themselves, it won't really matter. >> thank you for joining us live from washington. randall, thanks so much. stay with al jazeera for continuing coverage on the crisis in iraq. we'll have continuing updates and tonight we'll look at deeper factions and forces in iraq. that's tonight right here on al jazeera america. meanwhile, over in ukraine the army is launching airstrikes against separatists in the east. rebel fighters shot down a military transport plane killing 49 people in luhansk.

>> reporter: the plane that was shot down was a transport plane. there are concerns that 49 people were killed in this incident, military personnel as they came in to rotate troops out from the airport. the airport in luhansk is the last major site in the control by ukrainian army. the national guard places, check points around the city are in the control or controlled by separatists. what we've seen today is the ukrainian army moving. we've seen airstrikes, we've also seen ukrainian ground troops move in. we hear they may now have control. meanwhile no, official comment from kiev. we have seen ukrainian military move forcel forcefully, pushing towards the water to regain

control that have been in control of separatist. >> the democratic republic of congo, the a df has been forced back. the drc say this is the final stage in their campaign to stop the adf. roughly 800 people have been kidnapped by rebels in the last five years and few of them have returned. now that he's back on u.s. soil the u.s. army is starting a new investigation into why bowe bergdahl left his post in the first place. according to "the new york times" the two-star general who previously served in afghanistan will determine if bergdahl actually violated any rules. now the general is expected to receive an initial briefing in washington next week, and then

he'll assemble a staff. they'll going through briefings as bergdahl undergoes counseli counseling. >> he'we'll slowly increase his chance for choices. >> bergdahl has not met with his family yet, and officials have not indicated why. in afghanistan violence occurred along with the run off of president reports. >> reporter: voters began queuing in polling stations like this one in kabul early in the morning. they could choose between two men, a former world bank economy or a former foreign minister. but for some the presidential run off is about more than choosing the country's next

leader. >> this is the second legitimate leader we've experienced in the history of the country. we hope as all afghans, to have a better democracy. >> but before the polls even open the attacks began first rockets were launched. several people were injured and there were some reported deaths. by the time. polls closed there were reported 150 attacks across the country. despite this, many people chose to stay home security forces say they have learned from the first round and have more checks and restrictions in place, but the lower than expected voter turnout has more to do with

security. a record number of voters turned out for the first round in april, but people were not just choosing a president, they were also electing provincial leaders. that's not the case this time and it seems to have a limited impact on their lives. still others were determined to vote. >> in order to have democracy we have to make sacrifice. yes, there is violence but people need to know their vote matters. we as a country have to choose a president who will service and solve our problems. >> reporter: an election marked by violence. al jazeera, kabul. >> meanwhile the colombians are gearing up for presidential election on sunday.

colombia has been a the war with farc rebels for over 50 years. still ahead on al jazeera america as the world prepares for another full slate of world cup action, the athlete s are preparing to fight an unexpected opponent. that's the brazilian humidity. >> after decades of contamination by ford motor company the indian tribe is cleansing the earth.

>> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app.

get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now >> president obama is now the fourth sitting president to visit native american land. he visited the reservation that borders north and south dakota. after a 38 year, the native american tribe is celebrating

victory in their state. >> reporter: in the mountains of new york a healing of the earth. the tribe had called these mountains home for thousands of years. but they have been fighting for decades to have thousands of tons of pollution cleaned up by one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world. from 1955 to 1980 ford motor company built more than 6 million cars at its plant i nearby. but with large scale production came large scale pollution. and in the 60's and 70 arsenal, ford dumped paint containing lead, arsenic and other chemicals. >> we pushed ford motor company very hard to come to the table with us and after many years of working back and forth they did agree to come in and remediate the site. >> ford motor company paid more than $50 million to remove 42,000 tons of toxic soil from

this site alone. now the tribe wants ford to use this as a model for how it removes the rest of the toxic sludge. [♪ singing ] >> reporter: ford has agreed, we know about their words. we have to make their words come real. they have agreed to a medicine garden at every site that gets completely remediated. >> reporter: ford tells it has no plans to build other medicine gardens but it has been working cooperatively with the epa for a final remediation plan. it's not yet under way and the tribe fears time is running out. many tribe members have cancer and other health problems that they contribute to the sludge. >> i would say we easily lost 30% of our elders. the corporation, namely ford at this point, has robbed us of our

elders. >> reporter: the tribe is pushing for a comprehensive health study. >> quite frankly i don't think the new york city department of health has been stepping up to the table to deal with this. we can categorize the affect since the initial deposits of really toxic material here. >> they believe the healing cannot truly begin until ford takes responsibility of the health problems. >> ford can never take back what it cost us. we lost a lot. we've lost family members and that was our price. >> reporter: decades later the tribe said it continues to pay a heavy price for ford's pollution. al jazeera, new york.

>> well, as spring winds down there is a possibility of severe weather in the national forecast for today and eboni deon joins us now with the latest on that. >> reporter: that's right, morgan, it's going to be an active day across parts of the midwest where right now it's mainly all rain. we've had a few isolated receiver thunderstorm warnings. really the bulk of the rain has been across minnesota. we started off dry, and seeing that rain coming down it's going to continue to be the trend. in the later hours of the day we could be dealing with thunderstorms. and we'll see that all the way down to lubbock texas. home had a, lincoln, we're watching for very large hail as well as isolated tornadoes. as for the timing of all of them we'll see conditions

deteriorating as we get into the late afternoon and into this evening. notice i'm stopping this through the overnight hours. that's where we'll see it pushing through eastern areas of nebraska and then on to iowa as we head out on father's day, chicago, st. louis will be in line for thunderstorm activity. as again it's this area here at highest risk. as we go into the overnight hours we'll shift further east where we will watch for heavy rainfall threat. we got soaked in the northeast but now high pressure is building in giving way to clearing skies. it will be a beautiful day over much of the region. the only exception maybe across new england where we have spotty rain showers in the area. but as we continue to dry out temperatures will warm up nicely by sunday in new york city. 83 degrees will top out in the mid 80s for monday, and then it gets close to 90 degrees as we get to the middle part of the workweek. today it looks like a nice day to the northeast. high pressure moves in but it's

the next system bringing rain to the northeast for early next week. >> thank you so much, eboni. appreciate it. four world cup matches are being played in brazil, columbia will play greece and uruguay will take on costa rica. england against italy and the ivory coast takes on japan. brazil's autumn is winding down, and it's winter is ready to begin but that offers little relief for players who cope with the heat and humidity of the you amazon basin. >> reporter: another training day, one of the local teams wher temperatures in june hover between 30 and 40 celsius and humidity at 80. >> reporter: we train every day in this heat.

>> the coach said he knows when out of town players are suffering from the temperatures. >> they start the game fast. and after 30 players can't take it any more. as they say it here, the heat jumps on your back. >> all of the players were born and raised here in the amazon region of brazil, and they tell me over time they've been able to adjust and adapt to the punishing heat and humidity. but that's a luxury that the professional footballers at the world cup won't have. 12,348 the consequences of the heat on the body of athletes was a subject of research as doctors had local players swallow tiny transmitters with temperature measuring devices during a game. the findings revealed body heat of players reached over 40 degrees celsius. scary was how they described the

results. >> there are athletes who have more vulnerability and might suffer nausea and dizziness. and the neurology damage is the most worrisome. in europe the climates are very different than here. i don't know how it will effect them but they'll have to deal with it and play good football. >> in this city the only thing that will prove stiffer competition is the thick, muggy heat hanging over them. al jazeera. >> well, when we come back an update of our top stories and it's a heart fit for a scene. well, the queen of england to be exact.

>> good morning. here's today's top toys. the situation in iraq is growing

even working. sunni rebels and kurdish separatists are vowing now to capture baghdad. and in ukraine the army is launching airstrikes operates separatests to the east. voting has ended in afghanistan's presidential run off election. they will vote for the president to replace hamid karzai. a celebration for the queen that dates back and 1,000 soldiers participated. red arrow flames flew over buckingham palace and queen elizabeth's birthday where she turned 88 years old. i'm morgan radford.

for news, updates all throughout the day you can always go to our website at www.aljazeera.com. or follow us on twitter @ajam. have a great day. . >> you could be forgiven for thinking it's 2004 again. maps of iraq, escalating warfare and fleeing civilians. now the grand ayatollah is calling up for armies to protect it's shrines. iraq at its brink is the inside story.